Another Codyism

Cody has been enamored with his little sister since the day we brought her home from the hospital. He is constantly asking if he can hug and kiss her, and is the only one who can make her smile when she is in the midst of crying. He is very interested in all of her daily activities. He loves to make faces at her as she sits in her bouncy seat, bring mommy burp cloths for the inevitable spit up accidents, help put away her laundry, and watch her get her diaper changed. This last thing is the most amusing for Jay and I. It seems that, as fascinating as diaper changes are, Cody prefers to be present for the changing of poopy diapers rather than mere pee-pee diapers. Often he will ask us as we head to the changing table, "is it poop?" If we say yes, he is right behind us anxiously awaiting the big reveal. (Boys are so gross!) Then, as soon as the tabs are loosened and the treasure is unearthed, Cody can be heard to say any number of hilarious things - mostly "eeeew," or "gross,"- but the other day he busted out with, "that is a BIG stink for a little girl!" Aaah, the things they say!

My fear of the pediatrician...

When I was 7 years old, my 4 month old sister, Angela, passed away due to complications from her recent vaccinations. As sad as that story is, it was not until I had children of my own that I realized what an impact it has had on me. Yesterday, Jay and I took Emma in for her 2 month appointment, the first of several scheduled in which she'll receive her vaccination shots. Emma was a champ. She cried at the initial shock of the needles, but stopped fairly quickly and spent the majority of the rest of the day "sleeping it off." I, on the other hand, was a wreck. I watched her carefully all day, checked her breathing and temperature often, and was generally on edge. Nighttime was even worse - for me. I was up often fretting about the lack of noise coming from her room, and got up twice to make sure all was well. During my wakeful hours, I thought back to when Cody had his vaccinations. Was I this neurotic then? Did I behave this way every time he was scheduled for vaccinations? The answer - yes. Chances are I will react this way each time one of my children needs to see the pediatrician for routine vaccinations. But fortunately, chances are just as good that my fears and neurotic behavior will come to naught each time. As you can see, Emma is doing just fine (and so am I)!

Emma

Emma is 2 months old today. It amazes me how much she has brought to our lives in such a short period of time. I found this poem that I think says exactly how we feel about our precious little Emma.

"You were entirely expected, yet you take us by surprise. We set about with calm precision, but you are a whirlwind: irresistible, random, and compelling. You dash our confidence. You are tiny but immeasurable; beautiful and impossible. You are one part apprehension, two parts awe. You promise with potential and frighten with uncertainty. You are us, and we are you. You sow endless anticipation, and you question our assumptions. You overwhelm. You are bubbling, then overflowing. You are verdant, consuming effervescence, springing from abundance. You are head-over-heels, pell-mell, tumbling down gentle hills laughing in the sunshine, then running back again. You are one step out the door, straight into freefall. Your seeking and comprehending are butterfly wings, flitting about and launching a tempest. You have bewitched us, you unpainted canvas, and masterpiece."

We are so blessed to have you in our lives Emma. You've made our family complete and we love you.

Confessions of a mommyblogger...

I am new to the blogging world, only a few weeks in, but I must say I am addicted! I love to write about our life and to read about the lives of others. As I get more and more into my new hobby, I am discovering some things about myself that I feel the need to confess.

1) I check my friends blogs for updates, pretty much every day. I can't wait to see new posts!
2) At times, I have caught myself more interested in taking pictures of events "to post on the blog" rather than just enjoying said events and activities.
3) I love comments! It's nice to know that people are reading what I write and to learn how they feel about my posts. After I post a blog, I usually check back several times to see if I received any comments. (It must have something to do with my need for affirmation.)
4) I am sometimes a blog stalker! Yes, I look at other peoples' blogs that I don't even know, and I do not make comments. Lately, I have been trying to give myself up and let people know I have been reading their blog, but sometimes I can't bring myself to do it - especially if I don't know the person. (If you are reading this and stalking my blog, let me know - I'm probably stalking yours too, and we could just get it out in the open...)
5) I get really (kind of ridiculously) excited when I publish a post!

So there you have it. Phew! I feel much better, having confessed all of my dirty little blogging secrets.

water babies

Cody is practically a fish during the summer. Multiple times a day, you can hear him say, "Can we go swimming?" Thankfully, Jay is also part fish, and usually is ready and willing to take Cody for a dip. I love that we have the pool, but really, I'm a sissy. If the water is not bathtub warm, I generally can be found watching from a lounge chair or sitting on the steps with only my legs in.

Well today, little Emma had her first experience in the pool. She's dipped her toes a few times, but today she went all the way in. And though she seemed to get used to the water, I'd have to say that her initial screaming as she was submerged, was much like you might hear from her mommy. I know that Jay and Cody will continue to try to tempt both Emma and I with promises of warm water, and how "good it feels," so we may become fish yet!

My cute kids!

I hate to brag, but my kids are really cute!



As you can see from the picture, Cody is an awesome big brother. He's helpful, kind, and patient. Emma is pretty easy to fall in love with too. She's really a good baby; she barely cries, smiles at almost anything, and she's been sleeping nearly 10 hours at night for almost 3 weeks now! I am one lucky mommy!

swimming lessons - take 2

Cody is doing much better in swimming lessons now that he's in the right class. (Look at him here, hanging onto the wall with all the other kiddos.) He is learning the freestyle stroke, the backstroke, and how to dive. He is still having a difficult time being as attentive as the other kids, but he is getting better every day. Just today, as a matter of fact, his instructor complimented him on his improvement, and then almost fell over when he learned that Cody is still 3. Apparently all the other kids are 6 or 7 - so I guess his immaturity makes sense.

Proceed with caution!

A terrible thing happened at our house this afternoon...

There I was vacuuming the living room, minding my own business, when Cody comes out of his room and says, "Mommy, I had a little accident in my underpants." I, the mother of the year that I am, don't turn the vacuum off and ask him any questions, but merely shrug my shoulders and tell him to go clean himself up. Moments later over the humming of the vacuum, I hear Cody calling for help. As I walk into the bathroom I am immediately overcome by the smell of poop. After I recover from the smell, I look closer and see that the smell is the least of my concerns. There is poop everywhere! Now when I say everywhere, I am not exaggerating - on the floor, on the cabinets, on the wall, on my shower towel, and on Cody. What a mess! It is then, as I gaze at my recently cleaned and scoured bathroom, that I realize my mistake. I made a very human and I think logical error - I assumed that when Cody told me that he had had an accident, that he meant a tiny, easily rectified by a change of underpants, pee in the pants accident. I guess that's what I get for assuming. Lesson learned!

There I go making this all about me, back to the story... Poor Cody was equally traumatized by this experience. When I asked him how this all happened he explained that when he was trying clean the poop from his underpants by shaking them (apparently very violently) into the toilet, "poop just kept going all over everything and I didn't know how to make it stop." After we got everything and everyone cleaned up, Cody said to me, "Mommy, I don't want to have any more accidents - It's too disgusting."

What a day!

swimming lessons

Cody started swimming lessons today. Cody has been swimming unassisted in our pool for the past two summers, so it was a bummer when we realized that I had enrolled him in the wrong section, and he ended up with the kiddos who are not yet swimmers. This was very eye opening experience for both Jay and I. As we watched helplessly from the sidelines, we discovered what happens when Cody does not feel challenged enough by an activity - he rebels. We spent a half hour watching as Cody swam off from the group, was chased back by his instructors, and then proceeded to swim off again. Fortunately tomorrow we will get him in the right class, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that he will be more challenged and more well behaved.

update on the finger debate

Well, after much debate and several rounds of finger counting and comparing, I was able to convince Cody that we do indeed have the same number of fingers - phew! Sadly, Cody has now turned his attention to poor Emma, and has thus far refused to be convinced that she too has ten fingers. "No Mom, she's just a baby. She will get ten when she's big like me!" As of bedtime tonight, Cody will only credit poor Emma with 7 fingers - I guess there is more work to be done! (Don't be alarmed, I counted Em's fingers just to be sure - there are 10, and they are perfect!)

Maybe it's the new math?

This morning as I was taking Cody to school, he said to me, "Mommy, you and daddy have more fingers than me. When will I get more fingers like you guys?" I giggled, and then I asked him to count his fingers. He did - 10. Then I asked him to count my fingers - also 10. "See Cody," I said, "we have the same number of fingers. We both have 10". He thought about this for a minute then said, "I don't know how you did that Mommy, but you tricked me." "What do you mean I tricked you", I responded. "Well, when you were driving I counted your fingers and you had 11. Where did you hide the other one?" he asked. Once again I giggled, and tried to convince him that I really, truly have always had only 10 fingers. He adamantly disagreed, and went into school still believing that I had somehow magically tricked him. What a funny little boy!

Working on our timing

Lately Jay and I have been trying to remind Cody not to talk with his mouth full. It seems that as soon as Cody takes a bite of food, and his mouth is stuffed to capacity, his brain engages and he has all kinds of important stories to recount to us. Just tonight I struggled with this issue yet again while having dinner with my little man. After dinner I asked Cody, "Why is it that you always think of something to say just as you take a bite?" His response - "That's just the way it is with me mom." He sure told me!

Say cheese!

On Tuesday I took the kids to have their pictures taken. The pictures turned out great, but I just felt like something was missing. This morning I figured out just what it was...Emma's smile. Emma found her smile today! Not her, "watch out, I'm smiling, but really I'm pooping my pants smile", but her honest to goodness real smile. Sadly, she does not yet smile on comand - thus, no picture proof, but I swear, she does, and, it can light up the room! And, check out my sweet boy - watch out ladies!

Dare to dream...

Last week the kids and I were in the car on the way to the library, when out of nowhere Cody says, "Mommy, when I'm 21 I'm going to drink beer and have hair on my chest like daddy." I laughed hysterically, and then stopped for just a moment to wonder...should I be worried that these are the types of things my 3 year old aspires to be when he grows up? Then I continued laughing, because after all - that is funny!

Here we go!

As you may know, Cody is always saying the darndest things. Last week I was relating yet another funny Codyism to a friend and she suggested that I start this blog to record all of the little "life snacks" that take place when you are the parent of two small children. Like many of you, I often find myself saying, "that is so funny, I really should write that down." And, like many of you, life gets thrown at me a second later, and I forget to document all of the antics that I hope to someday recall for my children's and my own pleasure. So, this blog is where I will attempt to record all of the little things that Cody and Emma say and do, that make us smile, laugh, and sometimes even cry.